Ogden honored for range restoration

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A Carlsbad woman has been honored for her efforts in restoring rangelands on her family's two ranches in Eddy County and for enlisting other ranchers to do the same on their rangeland. Alisa Ogden, who currently serves as the first woman president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, was presented the Bureau of Land Management's Restore New Mexico Award in Albuquerque last week. "It was a nice thing to get," Ogden said. "I believe this is only the second year for the award. I'm honored but I didn't do it all alone. I received the award, but it was not just me that did all the work. I was the one (BLM) worked with. I'm just the ranch manager. All the work on Ogden farms and ranches through Restore New Mexico was funded by our family business," Ogden said, clarifying her family's role in leading to her award. "I suggested to my dad and the rest of the family that we partner with the BLM in the Restore New Mexico Program, and the family agreed." Jesse Juen, BLM associate state director, said Ogden has made significant contributions to grassland restoration on her grazing allotments and on adjoining state and private lands. "She's also helped involve other ranchers in Restore New Mexico, a partnership of agencies, landowners and other entities that depend on individuals like Alisa to restore degraded landscapes throughout our state," he said. Ogden's family ranch and farm operation in the Black River area goes back to 1918. Ogden and her family have worked continuously to improve the health of the land. BLM officials said Ogden partnered in the 1980s with the BLM's Carlsbad Field Office on one of the earliest prescribed fires to control invasive shrubs. Since then, several other burns have been conducted on her allotments. Ogden said the relationship between the BLM, farmers and ranchers in Eddy County has come a long way from the acrimonious relationship of the 1970s and early 1980s....